


Make You Happier Than I Do

by sourdough_pup



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Birthday, Dating, Fluff, Jealousy, M/M, minor angst with a happy ending, so there is some extra stuff from the version i posted on tumblr, this has gone through a decent amount of revision
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-20
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-22 15:35:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4840898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sourdough_pup/pseuds/sourdough_pup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin knew it was just lunch, but he couldn't help but feel abandoned when Eggsy agreed so easily to join Harry instead of Merlin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Make You Happier Than I Do

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GhoulsOnMyBike](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhoulsOnMyBike/gifts).



> A birthday present for Nicki who wanted Merwin with a jealous Merlin and a cute ending. Originally posted on tumblr, this is the edited and updated version. Huge thanks to my BFF for beta-ing and helping me fix a few sections!

Merlin didn’t like to think of himself as a jealous man, but he refused to lie to himself, and right now, he was very, very, jealous. 

The rational part of him knew that he has nothing to worry about, that Eggsy was nothing but loyal, but they had only just started dating a month ago. They’d known each other for over a year, but the majority of that was during Eggsy’s training. With less than three dates under their belt and barely five months of friendship before that, it was hard to feel secure when Eggsy lit up at a simple invitation to lunch that afternoon from Harry. 

He wasn’t unaware of his best friend’s charms—Harry was charismatic, handsome, and he and Eggsy got along like a house on fire. Harry had visited Eggsy often during training, not to mention the time Eggsy spent studying at his bedside while he was in a coma. Merlin saw how he had bloomed under Harry’s guidance and praise, often saving his questions for Harry to answers, rather than ask Merlin. Eggsy went to Harry for advice and reassurance while he had still believed Merlin would single him out as an acceptable loss. 

Perhaps it would have been easier had his last lover not taken one look at Harry and promptly dumped Merlin to chase his best friend. Harry had refused him, of course, his friendship and loyalty to Merlin far stronger than any interest he might have had. Still, Merlin had gotten used to spending lunch with Eggsy and to be so quickly abandoned for Harry, no matter how much he understood Eggsy’s desire to reconnect with his mentor, was a little too similar for Merlin’s piece of mind. He knew it was irrational for it to bother him; Eggsy and Roxy went out often, to exchange stories and talk about Roxy’s latest conquest, and Harry wasn’t interested in romantic relationships, but the way Eggsy smiled at Harry made Merlin uneasy still.

Logically, he knew that Eggsy had been busy, with missions and settling into his new role, and Harry had been in recovery until this week, but it didn’t help soothe the twisting of his stomach. 

He wasn’t going to let it affect him, though. He was a professional, and more than that, he trusted Eggsy. With that thought in mind, he forced his thoughts away from his boyfriend and focused on pulling together the details for Percival’s mission.

He was so intent on the file he was preparing that he almost missed Eggsy’s return. Eggsy’s training and talent weren’t yet enough to beat Merlin’s decades of experience, especially in his own domain. “Welcome back,” he said right before Eggsy reached him. He could sense the grin bloom on Eggsy’s face and when the younger man settled his chin over Merlin’s shoulder to press a kiss to his cheek, he could actually feel it.

“One of these days, bruv,” Eggsy promised. “Did you manage to eat something while we were out?”

Just like that, Merlin was reminded of his previous thoughts. He was sure Eggsy could feel him tense as it all came back to him. He grumbled something about wanting to finish the briefing file before anything else came up and took Eggsy’s exasperated sigh as a victory. He let Eggsy scold him about taking care of himself before shooing the younger man out with a promise of dinner later and a reminder that he was supposed to meet Roxy for combat practice.

When they met up later, Merlin made it through dinner without problems, happy to have Eggsy to himself again. It was only when he saw Eggsy and Harry pouring over a document during tea the next day—side by side with Eggsy sporting a pleased grin while Harry just gave a fond shake of his head—that the twisting in his gut returned. He coughed to get their attention and frowned when Eggsy quickly hid the paper. 

“If I have to track you two down for another briefing because you’re too busy discussing pointless ways to kill people, I will send you both to Siberia.” Merlin threatened, channeling his displeasure at their lateness to cover the surge of jealousy. “Now, if you don’t mind?”

At their nods, he proceeded, telling them about the suspected terrorist cell that had popped up seemingly overnight in Brussels. He was mostly running on autopilot, unable to ignore the churning in his gut this time. He finished with a crisp, “any questions? No? Good, Pelleas, you’ll need to be on the Eurostar by four, and make sure to get in touch with Amelia when you do so. Galahad, if you would check out the possible splinter group here in London?” At the Knights’ nods, he cleared the screen, and left them with a reminder of the importance of discretion and speed. “The EU is headquartered in Brussels, and I’m sure you understand how important it is to maintain what stability is left these days.”

He was barely halfway down the hall when Eggsy caught up with him. “Oi, Merlin, hold up a beat!”

Merlin paused and turned to the newest Knight. “Yes, Pelleas?” 

Eggsy rested a hand on Merlin’s arm, concern written all over his face. “You all right? You seem kind of off.”

Merlin smiled tightly to hide the clenching of his jaw. “I’m fine. There has just been a sudden influx of missions and we don’t have a full table to properly handle them.”

Eggsy’s frown faded, but didn’t entirely disappear. “Alright. Take care of yourself, though. We ain’t much use without our Wizard.” He teased with a wink and gentle squeeze. “See you when I get back, yeah?”

“I would like that.” Merlin confirmed with a nod, before they parted to go their separate ways. Merlin watched as Eggsy strode away confidently, sharp as always in his Kingsman suit, and thought it was for the best that he was off on a mission. Though there was plenty for him to do, there was an ample amount of time for him to figure out what to do about the jealousy eating away at him, before it caused an actual problem.

Despite his plans, though, by the time Eggsy had returned, he was no closer to a solution than when the younger man had left. He’d left the mission in Amelia’s capable hands, purposefully only checking in once or twice. It hadn’t helped that he knew Eggsy had met up with Harry on his way back and made a detour before returning to HQ. Perhaps that was why he was making his way to his office rather than tracking Eggsy down.

Reaching his door, he frowned when he realized it was slightly ajar. He slid the door open further, wondering who was in his office. 

“SURPRISE!”

Merlin tensed when he heard the exclamation, only to be faced with a grinning Eggsy and a small table made with the most ridiculous table cloth (it had balloons, for heaven’s sake), topped with fantastic looking Indian food. 

“Happy birthday, luv!” 

His mind connected the scene before him with Eggsy’s actions over the last few days and everything fell into place. He wasn’t sure how Eggsy had found out it was his birthday, but he suspected Harry was to blame given their multiple get-togethers; he’d decide whether to thank his friend or send him someplace terrible later. All the tension and negativity bled out of him. Finding out his birthday and handling a mission quickly so he and Merlin could have a private lunch with Merlin’s favorite food without telling him was exactly the type of kind, playful, thoughtfulness Merlin so adored in Eggsy.

Stepping forward, he pulled Eggsy to him and drew him into a deep kiss. When Merlin pulled away, he smiled wryly at the younger man’s bemused but pleased expression. “I think I owe you an apology, Eggsy.”

“For what?” Eggsy asked, confusion winning out. “’Cause you don’t ever need to apologize for kissing me, especially like that.” He added with a wink.

“No, Eggsy, I’m afraid it’s concerning some rather unfair thoughts I had.” Merlin admitted.

Eggsy frowned. “This have anything to do with why you’ve been acting so odd, bruv?” He asked, letting his hand slide down from where they had settled on Merlin’s shoulder to rest on his belt in a loose embrace. “Because I thought you was just busy.”

“It does.” Merlin said. “However, it’s fairly unflattering and you went to all this effort, so I think we can put it off until tomorrow.”

“Alright, but we are going to discuss it.” Eggsy told him. “Mostly because you sound like you made a mistake and I didn’t think you knew how to do that.” He kissed Merlin’s cheek, then pulled away to take his hand. “Now c’mon, I think I got the timing right, so let’s eat while it’s still hot.”

“That sounds wonderful.” Merlin agreed as he relaxed into love-seat Eggsy had managed to sneak in and pulled the younger man down next to him. “And Eggsy?” He waited until Eggsy turned away from dishing out food to look at him. “Thank you for this.”

Eggsy blushed lightly. “It ain’t anything fancy, I didn’t have enough time to find you a real present or anything, but I wanted to do something nice for you. Not too much, issit?”

Merlin smiled softly at him. “It’s perfect.” He murmured before pressing a kiss to Eggsy’s cheek. “Now, what did you get?”

**Author's Note:**

> Pelleas is known as the Gentle Knight and came from a poorer background, so I thought it was a fitting name for Eggsy. Let me know what you think, and comments or critiques are welcome!
> 
> As always, you can find me on tumblr at [ forgottenkanji ](http://forgottenkanji.tumblr.com/)


End file.
